Photodegradation of berberine hydrochloride at the interface of 1D–2D nanohybrid of nickel ferrite supported on reduced graphene oxide†

Morphologically tuned one-dimensional (1D) nickel ferrite (NiFe₂O₄) nanorod (NFNR) was synthesized through co-precipitation and hydrothermal methods. The NFNR was combined with two-dimensional (2D) reduced graphene oxide (rGO) derived from battery waste and designated as NFNR/rGO. The 1D–2D nanohybrid was used as a UV-light-harvesting photocatalyst for the degradation of berberine hydrochloride (BH), a hazardous water contaminant. Using NFNR/rGO, 97.61% of BH was degraded in 60 min upon exposure to UV light along with 83.87% of mineralization following the first-order kinetics. The present analysis showed that NFNR/rGO exhibited 4.8 times higher photocatalytic activity than the bare NFNR owing to increased surface area, reduced indirect band gap, more active sites and low charge recombination rate. The photocatalytic degradation mechanism of BH was investigated and examined with the help of trapping experiments and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The experimental evidences demonstrated that OH˙ (hydroxyl) and O₂⁻˙ (superoxide) radicals played dominant roles in the photodegradation procedure. The various probable intermediates involved during the reaction were investigated through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS). The magnetically separable catalyst was reused and assessed for five consecutive cycles. The photocatalyst delivered strong activity towards the photodegradation of BH during recycling. The photodegradation process of BH was also studied using three other catalysts having variable molar ratios of Ni to Fe, and it was found that NFNR/rGO with Ni : Fe = 1 : 2 exhibited a superior activity.